Hampton’s death wasn’t the first time Black Panther Party members had been killed, injured or jailed by law enforcement, and it wouldn’t be the last. Hampton was 21 years old. Fred Hampton so put it: “There have been many attacks made upon the Black Panther Party, so we feel it’s best to be an armed propaganda unit. Photo courtesy of WBEZ / Associated Press. Fifty one years ago, Chicago police shot and killed chairman of the Illinois Black Panther party Fred Hampton. The circumstances of his death were suspicious in many ways and many think he was murdered by the police as he lay wounded, involuntarily drugged and unarmed. Chicago Tribune file photo/TNS via Getty Images Fred Hampton testifies at a meeting on the death of West Side men in 1969. While the death of Fred Hampton dealt a crippling blow to the Illinois chapter, the char-ter chapter in Oakland has never been stronger. The details of what happened are extremely sketchy and subject to a great deal of controversy and conjecture, even to this day. The Black Panther Raid and the death of Fred Hampton. NEAR WEST SIDE — Fifty years ago today, Fred Hampton was killed by Chicago police as he slept in his home. Fred Hampton, left, chairman of the Black Panthers, speaks during a news conference with the Young Lords on Oct. 10, 1969, at Holy Covenant United Methodist Church. Edward V. Hanrahan, the Cook County State's Attorney who authorized the raid and who, afterward, falsely characterized the execution as a "gun battle" and praised the officers for their "restraint," lost his bid for reelection and never held political office again. Each year, supporters of the late chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party memorialize the anniversary of his death, dubbed International Revolutionary Day, with a vigil at the site of the police raid, 2337 W. Monroe St. Fred Hampton Death Photo images, similar and related articles aggregated throughout the Internet. But the known facts are these: On Dec 4, 1969, police … The Chicago Police Department, acting on orders from Cook County State's Attorney Edward Hanrahan with information given to him by the FBI, raided the home of Fred Hampton which was located here. Fred Hampton was shot and killed by Cook County police in an early morning raid in the early hours of December 4, 1969 at a Black Panther apartment at 2337 Monroe. Ted Gregory Chicago Tribune. The US government’s efforts to discredit Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders illustrate the lengths to which it will go to stifle left-wing movements. Hampton's death had a seismic effect on Chicago's political scene. We have all seen the picture of the hotel balcony where Martin Luther King jr. stood, and fell, surrounded by … Hampton and leader of the Peoria Chapter of the Black Panther party Mark Clark were killed by Chicago police in a raid on the Black Panther headquarters on Dec. 4, 1969. The Last Hours of William O'Neal He was the informant who gave the FBI the floor plan of Fred Hampton's apartment. Last week he ran onto the Eisenhower Expressway and killed himself.